The WesseX Repeater Group News Page

The WesseX Repeater Group – Constitution Issue 3  2003

 The following text is the constitution of the WesseX Repeater Group as formally agreed by      the Group’s members on Saturday 17th April 1999 and as amended at the AGM of the 5 th March 2000 and as amended at the AGM in August 2003.

1.   Name

           The group shall be known as the WesseX  Repeater Group

2.   Aims

1.   The aims of the group shall be to provide and maintain repeater(s) in the   geographical area of the UK notionally known as  ‘ Wessex ‘.
2.   To promote Amateur Radio and to further the interests of its members in all directly associated activities.

3.   Membership

1.   Except as stated in 3b, any person who has paid the annual subscription fixed by the group, is entitled to membership of the group.

2.   The committee shall be entitled, at its absolute discretion and without giving      reason, to terminate the membership of any such person

3.   Except as defined in section 11 of this constitution, any person who has their membership terminated or refused, shall have no claim of any kind against the group whatsoever.

4.   All members shall abide by the constitution of the group at all times.

5.   Where a member is under 14 years of age and is not licensed or is not fully participating on a fully bonafide NRAE or RAE course, they shall not have any voting rights, neither can they be an officer or committee member.

4.  Subscriptions

a.        The annual subscription for membership shall be set by the committee.

b.        All subscriptions shall be due and payable on the anniversary of the date on which the member originally joined the group.

c.        The minimum annual subscriptions are initially set at 

Nil         for all under 14 years of age

£12       Standard membership

£20       Family membership

£6         Over 65’s and full time students

£100      Individual Life membership

d.         A 25 % reduction is available for individuals, who can provide evidence of unemployment and/or being on income support, invalidity benefit or disability allowance. Not available on Individual Life membership

e.         Where a person applies for membership who does not fit one of the above categories, the initial fee shall be established by the committee for that year and the new category shall be confirmed and added to the list at the next full AGM

f.           Any member who has not paid their subscription within1 calendar month of the anniversary of the date on which they originally joined the group shall be deemed to have resigned from the group. Any individual whose membership fee has so ended who subsequently wishes to renew their membership shall have the renewal date back dated to the anniversary of the date on which they originally joined the group and shall pay the appropriate amount in full.

g.         Where a member pays no subscription, they must write to the secretary at least 1 month prior to the anniversary of the date on which they originally joined the group to indicate that they wish their membership to continue.

h.         Honorary members may be appointed by the committee, they shall pay no subscription but shall have no voting rights.

5.             Officers and Committee

a.          The business of the group shall be conducted by the officers and committee all of whom shall be members and elected at the AGM. For a member to be elected, a simple majority of those members present shall be needed

b.          The committee in whom the groups property is vested shall consist of:

Chairperson        Will preside at all meetings at which he/she is present at his/hers discretion. He/she will maintain an overview of the group’s activities and will undertake corrective action where necessary and practicable. Where He/She is unable to attend any specific meeting He/She shall appoint another member of the committee to act on His/Her behalf.

Secretary            Will be responsible for keeping the minutes of all main meetings of the group, for ensuring that all communications are correctly handled, for seeing that an accurate register of all group equipment and assets is kept, for ensuring that the group has, as a minimum, valid public liability insurance as defined by the RSGB/ARIS regarding repeater groups for all of the groups repeaters/sites.

Membership Secretary        Will be responsible for maintaining a roll of members

Treasurer          Will be responsible for keeping the groups accounts and advising the committee on all financial matters and preparing the accounts for audit and presenting them at the AGM. Shall ensure that the group is not allowed to incur any debts that cannot be fully met from current cash assets without the prior consent of the group’s membership.

Repeater Keeper(s)        Their responsibilities are laid down by the NOV of their license which they hold on behalf of the group and which may be amended from time to time. The repeater keeper (s) agree to grant access to the Technical Manager (s) appointed by the group to their respective repeaters as required by the NOV.

Technical Manager (s)      Will maintain their respective repeaters in good working order and according to the specification laid down by the Ofcom / RSGB and/or any future regulating or controlling body/organisation.

Ordinary Members     There will be no minimum number. However, those of the group who are not elected to any specific post may elect an ordinary member for every 15 members of their number, should they so wish

c.          The committee shall have the power to fill any committee vacancy. There shall be no maximum time period that any individual may serve on the committee.

d.          In the event of any officer of the committee holding more than 1 post they shall only have 1 vote (exception  - see 6.d)

5.   Committee Standing Orders

a.              At least 2 meetings of the committee shall be held each calendar year but otherwise it shall meet as and when considered necessary.

b.              Minutes of ALL meetings of the group and its committee shall be kept.

c.              The quorum for the committee shall be 2/3 rd’s of its members

d.              The Chairman may vote and in the event of a tie, He/She shall have a second vote.

e.              Officers and Committee member’s expenses can only be claimed against a specific receipt. When it may be difficult to obtain a specific receipt the committee must agree the position first and define the cost criteria.

f.                It shall be a requirement that all members of the group are kept up to date with group news. Such information being passed on by word of mouth in QSO, or via the groups web pages, email or packet. Therefore the committee shall decide who from their number shall be responsible for maintaining and updating the groups web pages and informing members via email, packet and fax etc

7.   Banking and Accounts

1.   The group shall maintain such banking accounts as the committee thinks fit

2.   Cheques or any other documents required to release funds for payments from any accounts shall be signed by 2 of 3 nominated members, one of whom shall be the Treasurer.

3.   There shall be prepared annually and laid before the group at the AGM, an audited statement of Account. An independent auditor shall be appointed annually.

8.   AGM

1.    The AGM shall be held during the first week in March, each calendar year and every paid up member shall be entitled to attend and vote provided that their current membership subscription has been paid in full prior to the date of the AGM

2.    At least 21 days notification of the AGM shall be given to each member in writing, either by post, email, packet fax etc or any other electronic means that is available. Notification shall be posted on the group web site.

3.   The Agenda for the AGM shall be

(1)        Apologies for absence

(2)        Minutes of the previous AGM and/or EGM where applicable

(3)        Reports from all Officers and committee members       

(4)        Resignation of outgoing Officers and committee members

(5)        Election of new Officers and committee members – to be chaired by a group member who is not standing

(6)        Any other business – Affiliations and Associations

4.   Where the/s repeater keeper/s no longer wish to stand for the committee and be responsible for the repeaters/s then since the repeaters/s license is an NOV against their own license, they shall remain responsible for the repeater/s until such time as the new NOV comes into force against the new repeater/s keeper/s license/s

5.   Nominations for Officers and committee will be valid only if confirmed by the nominee in writing prior to the AGM.

6.   Items for discussion under Any Other Business must be received in writing either by post, email, packet fax etc or any other electronic means that is available by the secretary no later than 14 days before the meeting.

9.   Extraordinary General Meeting

1.   An EGM may be called by the committee or by no fewer than 25 % of the paid up members of the group. They must notify the secretary in writing of their desire for an EGM and the subject matter.

2.   The secretary must organise the meeting as soon as is practically possible. However, every paid up member entitled to attend and vote shall be given at least 14 days written notice. The location for the EGM shall be the normal location used for the AGM, or one which is generally central to the area covered by the group membership

3.   The written notice is to indicate the business, date, time Location and list those who have requested the EGM.

4.   No other business may be raised, discussed or voted upon at the EGM.

5.   The absence of a paid up member who does not provide the secretary with a signed dated written statement of their voting intentions prior to the EGM, shall be considered to be voting against the business of the EGM.

10.   Amendments And Additions to the constitution

1.   The constitution may only be changed at an AGM

2.   Any proposed amendments to the Constitution must be notified in writing to the Secretary no later than 28 days prior to an AGM, so that the Secretary can include the proposed amendments within the notification for the AGM.

3.   With the exception of section 13 of the constitution, for the proposed amendments to the constitution to be carried, a minimum of 51 % of the paid up members of the group must vote in favour.

4.   The absence of a paid up member who does not provide the Secretary with a signed dated written statement of their voting intentions prior to the AGM shall be considered to be voting against any proposed amendments.

11.   Ownership of Equipment and Assets

1.   The repeaters themselves and all their associated equipment and ancillary items shall be the property of and thereby assets of the WesseX Repeater Group and as such shall appear on the list of assets as produced by the secretary.

2.   All other equipment or items given to the WesseX Repeater Group whether in use or in storage, shall also be considered to be a group asset and as such shall also appear on the list of assets as produced by the secretary.

3.   Any individual, be they a member of the WesseX Repeater Group or not, who supplies any equipment or items etc shall have no future claim on his specific equipment or items unless they have notified the secretary in writing prior to supplying the equipment or items etc that the equipment or items are only on loan to the WesseX Repeater Group and they have received a written acknowledgement of that fact from the secretary prior to making the equipment or items available to the group.

4.   Where any equipment or items etc which are on loan are required to be returned to the owner then the WesseX Repeater Group shall not be required to return the equipment or items etc immediately but shall be allowed 28 days from receiving the request to obtain suitable replacement equipment or items etc where the equipment or items etc are in use by the repeaters. Thereby eliminating the need to switch off the repeaters for any extended time.

5.   The group shall not be liable in any way whatsoever for any loss or damage how so ever caused to any equipment or items etc that are on loan to the group whether in use or in storage.

12.   Associations and Affiliations

1.   It shall be for the groups members to decide upon any associations or affiliations to/with other organisations based upon guidance from the committee

2.   The constitution of any such associations or affiliations shall be confirmed each and every year at the AGM

13.   Winding up of the group

1.   The decision to wind up the group may be taken only at an EGM.

2.   For the motion to be carried, a minimum of 2 thirds of the paid up members of the group must vote in favour. The absence of a paid up member who does not provide the secretary with a signed dated written statement of their voting intentions prior to the date of the EGM, shall be considered to be voting against the motion.

3.   Where the motion is carried, the disposal of all the group’s equipment and assets shall be determined by the paid up members of the group who attend the EGM. However, the repeaters may not be switched off or dismantled in any way prior to the expiry of 28 days from the date on which the groups repeater keepers notify the RSGB Repeater Management Committee in writing of the groups intentions – this is to be carried out within 7 days.

4.   Any surplus of funds, available after the payment of any outstanding bills etc shall be shared equally between the paid up members. Any debts that the group may have which cannot be covered by funds/assets will be for the equal liability of all the groups paid up members (see section 5 Treasurer 2^nd sentence)

14.   Unforeseen Circumstances

a.  Where any event, circumstance or situation arises the resolution of which is or cannot be specifically covered by this constitution, it shall be for the incumbent committee/officers as a whole to resolve the matter without reference to the groups membership, unless the committee/officers feel that they wish to canvas the members views and that this canvas can be done within a reasonable time scale. In relation to any deadline being imposed by the event, circumstances or situation that has arisen